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MR&DR: BotCon 98 INFO

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Robert Powers

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Jun 21, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/21/98

Manic Ramblings and Delerious Ranting, re: BotCon '98 INFO

Wow.

Just, wow.

I honestly can't recall having so much fun in such a short time... well,
hardly ever, really. I was constantly busy, met wonderful people left and
right, and generally had a terrific two days. I am going to be
unappologetically enthusiastic in this post, so if you're prone to
jealousy bouts, read no further.

I decided to split this into two parts, since BotCon goers got a lot of
info that might be of interest to people who aren't interested in the
"what I did" aspect of my weekend. This post contains the information,
including SPOILERS for BW Season 3 and the future toy line!!! If you
don't want to see them, skip past the part between the lines of asteriks.
However, there's really very little that should diminish your enjoyment of
the new shows -- if anything, it should only add to the anticipation for
them....

****************BEGIN SPOILERS********************

1) There will be 13 new BW episodes, straight from the mouths of the
writers. Episode titles are:
#40 The Agenda Part 4, by Bob Forward
#41 Deep Metal, by Larry Ditillio, debut of Depthcharger
#42 Changing of the Guard
#43 Cutting Edge by Ian Weir
#44 Feral Scream Part 1 by "GJ" (I jotted down the initials but forget the
actual name)
#45 Feral Scream Part 2 by Jules Dennis
#46 Proving Grounds
#47 Dark Glass
#48 Crossing the Rubicon
#49 Master Blaster
#50 Closure
#51 Nemesis Part 1
#52 Nemesis Part 2, by Simon Furman

As you can see, a set of dark and ominous (as well as "intentionally
vague") titles. "Rubicon", BTW for those who don't know, means a line or
boundary which once crossed is done so irrevocably. Is someone going to
change sides, I wonder?

2) As mentioned above, DEPTHCHARGER will be in the show. We are promised
3 or 4 or so "underwater" episodes and according to the writers they "look
awesome". Source: Forward and Ditillio.
3) OPTIMAL OPTIMUS will be in the show. He is NOT a fusion of Prime and
Primal, but a new incarnation of Primal. Source: Forward/Ditillio.
4) It also was mentioned that Rattrap will be in season 3, so people who
are fearing our heroes would be totally erased can rest easy. Source:
Forward/Ditillio.
5) The TOYS of RAMPAGE and OPTIMAL OPTIMUS are not yet available. Rampage
is "still being tweaked" by the designers in Singapore. Both toys should
be available in September. Hasbro reps whose names I don't recall since I
forgot to get a guest guide.
6) Hasbro will have a totally revamped WEB SITE with an appropriately
updated Beast Wars section opening October 1, 1998. There were vague
possibilities of some sort of internet premiums mentioned. These will
*not* be Ravage or Transmutate; there are no plans for such toys at
present nor is it likely they will ever be made. Source: Hasbro reps.
7) The "THIRD LINE" hinted at last year is "still being refined" and
*might* come out in 2000. My guess is that it's still at a conceptual
level. Source: Hasbro reps.
8) ANIMORPHS: Yes, they will have the Transformers brand name on them.
*But*, they will not be part of any Transformers universe. The purpose of
the name use is twofold; first, it "communicates how the toy is to be
played with", and second it "helps in selling the toys to retailers".
They are to be TFs in "play pattern" but NOT in the same universe. It is
hoped that the similarity of the nature of the toys will also help latch
Animorphs fans onto BW. Source: Hasbro reps.

That's it for the "new and upcoming" info.

*********************END SPOILERS*************************

Next, more general and non-spoilerish information.

THE TOY EXCLUSIVES are a blue-bodied, grey-limbed Powerpinch, renamed
Vicegrip, and a black Inferno renamed Antagony (female character.)
Vicegrip came in a plain plastic bag with a tech spec; Antagony came in a
*stunning* box with a decorated insert and a fold-up panel with bios of
all the characters that have been released as BW exclusives (Onyx Primal,
Packrat, Fractal, and this year's toys.) Apparently we're going to get an
on-going story line featuring these characters at each year's BotCon (see
"SCRIPT READING" below for more.) Vicegrip looks decent, though I think I
favor the original colors. Antagony looks *awesome* and I do recommend
getting one if you can. I didn't because I'm happy with my Inferno and
just don't go for repaints unless they are characters I know, but this toy
really looks better than the original IMO.

THE T-SHIRTS are white with a very simple "BotCon 98" logo on the front,
and an AWESOME Wildman-drawn airbrush-colored panel on the back, featuring
a ton of Decepticon leaders glaring across a holograph/table at Optimus
Prime and Arcee, who stand on the edges, backs to us. The picture
includes Thunderwing, Transmetal Megatron, G1 Megatron, Bludgeon,
Shockwave, Starscream, and Scorponok, with Galvatron in the center.

TOY DESIGN: At the Hasbro panel we got a quick review of the toy design
process. The toys start with both character types and animal modes, which
are selected during brainstorming sessions with the execs ("brand team
leaders"), the designers, the marketing people, and maybe a few others.
Such meetings occur every few months. A list of "about a hundred animals"
was mentioned as being available to be chosen from. They then work with
Takara, who are the ones who design the nuts and bolts of actual
transformation designs. Things like color and so on are worked out after
that; it's apparently a very back-and-forth process that reportedly takes
about a year from concept to finished product.

TOY DISTRIBUTION: The two reps (neither of whom, apparently, have been
with Hasbro for more than a year, so don't blame them for old problems!)
also mentioned that the toys are made in the Orient, shipped to a central
warehouse in Seattle, then to the distribution centers for the various
chains that sell BW. From that point on, distribution of the toys is out
of Hasbro's hands. It is not their fault that TRU in Maine gets no
Scavengers while TRU in NYC gets tons; it is TRU's fault. Generally the
toys show up in stores 6 to 8 weeks after shipping from Hasbro.

ON DINOBOT'S DEATH: Talking with Bob Forward in person, I asked how they
managed to get so much air time for Dinobot's death. The answer was a
surprise: Hasbro had NOT ordered them to get rid of Dinobot; it was the
writers' own choice. They were, however, working under the assumption
that he probably *would* have to be taken out eventually. So rather than
repeat the fiasco of Terrorsaur and Scorponok (whose deaths the writers
apparently found just as frustrating as we viewers did), they chose to
kill him off themselves in an appropriately written story. Scott McNeil,
the voice of Dinobot and several others, didn't even know about the
character's death until the day he went in to the studio for recording --
apparently it was quite a shock!

ON THE SIZES OF CHARACTERS: The size difference shown between BW Megs and
G1 Prime in "The Agenda" Part 3 can be attributed to "poetic liscence",
according to the writers. In their view, the Ark is "hallowed ground" to
the BW characters, and those within are almost god-like, or at least of
great historical reverence - a bit like George Washington or Abe Lincoln
to us in the USA today. They wanted to emphasize the awe that even Megs
felt about the place -- and consequentially emphasize and increase the
horror of what he was doing. So, although Prime is certainly bigger than
Megarex, we can assume he's not quite THAT much bigger. Scales and
relative sizes of characters are frequently altered to emphasize one
character over another in a scene. "Look at Dinobot when he's standing on
that cliff in 'Code of Hero'", said one of the writers. "He's thirty feet
tall!" Guess size does indeed matter... :]

WHO'S DEAD, WHO'S NOT: "They're DEAD!!" says Larry Ditillio. Seriously.
Since they have no sure idea who they're going to have to include in the
show next season, the writers have adopted a (semi-serious?) policy of
"kill everyone and reserect the ones we need." I asked about Quickstrike
getting run over; the answer: "You'll just have to wait and see."

TIDBITS FROM THE WRITERS: Apparently, the use of the word "Primus"
spurred more angry e-mail than all the "slags" put together... The aliens
are not the 2001 aliens, much to my disapointment :].... A season 1
episode which never got past the concept stage would have been titled "A
Greater Ape", and would have had Primal getting bonked on the head,
subsequently thinking he's a real gorilla, hanging out with a bunch of
other real gorillas, and hooking up with one of the females of the pack
before being restored to normal [NOTE, this episode was NEVER MADE and in
all probability NEVER WILL BE MADE]... I got one "yes" and one "no" from
the two writers when I asked if Megatron knew that Tarantulus was a mole;
apparently they've long intended for him to have his own agenda --
originally HE was the one who took over the Metalhunter in "Other
Visits"...

UGLY THINGS: 1) Optimal Optimus 2) Beast Wars II

BEAUTIFUL THINGS: Tony Preto's boxed collection. There was also an
exhibit of packaged BW toys in the dealer room. Rampage looks terrific!
Bantor looked like a very nice Regular. The rest I don't recall. But
Optimal Op is friggin' UGLY.

And finally, THE SCRIPT READING: The script was an outright parody,
featuring ALL of the BW BotCon exclusives, as well as all the characters
whose voices were present (Rattrap, Silverbolt, Waspy, Optimus, Megatron,
and Terrosaur.) It was *very* funny. Vince DiCola started things off
with a syth-laden intro theme, then all the voice actors sponanteously
broke into a "gratuitous" (Liquid Velcro!'s term) singing of the national
anthem. They read the first page of a fan-written script featuring Megs
inviting the Maximals over for a game of poker. Then we got the "real"
script, written by Bob Forward and entitled "Visitations". Attendees each
got a copy of the script but I leave it to someone else to post a copy of
it. Here's a summary, with a SPOILER warning in case you want to wait for
someone to trascribe it...

The story: Onyx Primal and Packrat (voiced like Ralph and whatshisname
from the Honeymooners) bicker as they search for a lost Pred artifact,
which they locate among a bunch of wild bean vines ("Wild bean vines?!"
Packrat laments. "Oh no! This isn't one of *those* episodes, is it?")
Onyx Primal gets the device ("I'd say it's some sort of... plot device.")
but just then Packrat points out the arrival of "the Predacons Fractyl and
Vicegrip, diving to attack! They must have detected the artifact too, and
are coming to take it from our possession!" "Thank you, Mr. Exposition,"
Onyx replies.

Fractyl ordes Vicegrip to attack. "I already am, Fractyl! Why are you
wasting time telling me?!" "Just establishing our names with the
audience, Vicegrip! Remember, they're Transfans!" "Oh, that's right.
Hey! Brawn is DEAD!" A stunned silence follows... :]

During the fight a shadowy figure appears, grabs the device, and disapears
again. Rattrap and Silverbolt arrive and, despite RT's reluctance
("Whaddaya, nuts?" he asks. "Silverbolt, they're *repaints*. Screw 'em
with a Phillips head.") drive off the Preds, who decide since their part
in the script is done they can "go get a drink of mech fluid" at a bar
somewhere. The Maximals argue over who lost the artifact, till Antagony
(voiced by Susan Blu) appears out of a cloud of smoke, demanding the
device; since none of them can produce it she trashes them all. Then Megs
and Waspinator arrive, with Waspy gloating that "Waspinator see many body
parts. And none of them Waspinator's. Oh, happy day!"

"Are you Megatron?" Antagony demands. "Yesss. Excellent." "*By* the
second line! Pay up," Rattrap demands, getting some bills from Gary
Chalk, while Antagony addresses Megs. "I am the Herald of the
Destruction!... I am your doom! I am your destruction! I am your worst
enemy!!" she proclaims, to which a startled Megs replies, "Raksha?!"
Antagony states her name and tells how she's fruitlessly searched all over
for him. "How DID you find me then?" "I checked Ben Yee's web page."
"What?! You've betrayed me for the last time, Wonko the Sane!" Megs
blasts the front-row sitting Ben, who falls and "dies weltering in his own
gore."

Megs tricks Antagony into expending her power fighting the newly arrived
Optimus Primal, who knocks her down at the cost of his own ammo. Megs
finishes Primal. Antagony grabs Waspinator as a hostage, telling Megs to
stay back or she'll "blow his head right off!" "Nooo! Please!
Waspinator's extended warranty expire last week!" Megs backs off, kicking
up dust, which makes Antagony sneeze, which makes her fire, which blows
Waspy's head off and expends the last of her power. Megs takes her
prisoner, promising to find out what "destruction" she heralds and what
her mission is. END PART ONE!

The production was VERY funny; I didn't include all the jokes. Presumably
we'll get another part next year... at least, one can always hope... :]

That's it for info. See next post for my babble about what it was like
just being there.
--
Robert Powers of the Ever-Changing .sig
repo...@shell.faradic.net ____________________________________
| "The word... is 'no'. I am therefore going anyway." |
| -- James Kirk, Star Trek III |
|_"Disclose the information!!"__ -- V'ger, ST:tMP_____________|

Joona I Palaste

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Jun 22, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/22/98

Robert Powers <repo...@shell.faradic.net> scribbled the following:
: Manic Ramblings and Delerious Ranting, re: BotCon '98 INFO

: As you can see, a set of dark and ominous (as well as "intentionally

: vague") titles. "Rubicon", BTW for those who don't know, means a line or
: boundary which once crossed is done so irrevocably. Is someone going to
: change sides, I wonder?

Rubicon was the name of the river Caius Iulius Caesar crossed when he
was going to attack another army. There he said his famous words: "Alea
iacta est", the die has been cast.

: 3) OPTIMAL OPTIMUS will be in the show. He is NOT a fusion of Prime and

: Primal, but a new incarnation of Primal. Source: Forward/Ditillio.

What a pity! I would have LOVED to see a fusion of Prime and Primal.
Some sort of gorilla truck, perhaps? =)

: WHO'S DEAD, WHO'S NOT: "They're DEAD!!" says Larry Ditillio. Seriously.

: Since they have no sure idea who they're going to have to include in the
: show next season, the writers have adopted a (semi-serious?) policy of
: "kill everyone and reserect the ones we need." I asked about Quickstrike
: getting run over; the answer: "You'll just have to wait and see."

That's "resurrect", Powers.

--
/----------------------------------------------------------------------\
| Joona Palaste (pal...@cc.helsinki.fi) | | | |
| Kingpriest of "The Flying Lemon Tree" | | | |
| TFA, FtPoW: Stargazer |------- -----------------|
| |------- -----------------|
| G++ FR FW+ M- #80 D+ ADA N+++ W++ B OP+ | | | |
| Finland rules! => | | | |
\----------------------------------------------------------------------/
Cyclonus: What is this place?
Daniel: An ice cream factory?
Cyclonus: You are insolent, Earth boy!
Daniel: Thanks!
--- from "Surprise Party"

Robert Powers

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Jun 22, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/22/98

On 22 Jun 1998 19:37:50 GMT, Joona I Palaste
<pal...@cc.helsinki.fi[REMOVEMETOACCESSE-MAIL]> wrote:
>: "kill everyone and reserect the ones we need." I asked about Quickstrike

>: getting run over; the answer: "You'll just have to wait and see."
>

>That's "resurrect", Powers.

Thanks, but if you corrected every spelling error I make on this group,
you wouldn't have time for anything else. I have never been noted for my
strong spelling skills, nor for my frequent use of dictionaries.

MORE BC STUFF, while I'm at it: The writers showed a *hysterical*
outtake segment from "Code of Hero". It had Dinobot attacking the Preds,
but minus the soundtrack. Instead, it had music from Mortal Kombat or
some other video game or something like that, like that lightweight techno
song they play in sports stadiums. The effect was to turn the scene from
"Dinobot's last stand" into "Predacon slaughterfest 98! Come on down and
have a stab at Inferno! Sunday Sunday SUNDAY!!!" I'm sure someone else
could ID the music.

--
Robert Powers of the Ever-Changing .sig
repo...@shell.faradic.net

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/6754 [Architecture & misc.]
http://members.tripod.com/~repowers [Transformers]
And remember, kids, when a horde of giant multi-tentacled mutants is
attacking your town, the best thing to do is to sit down and eat a good
hearty breakfast!

Robert A. Jung

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Jun 23, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/23/98

In article <slrn6otfr0....@shell.faradic.net> repo...@shell.faradic.net (Robert Powers) writes:
> MORE BC STUFF, while I'm at it: The writers showed a *hysterical*
>outtake segment from "Code of Hero". It had Dinobot attacking the Preds,
>but minus the soundtrack. Instead, it had music from Mortal Kombat or
>some other video game or something like that, like that lightweight techno
>song they play in sports stadiums. The effect was to turn the scene from
>"Dinobot's last stand" into "Predacon slaughterfest 98! Come on down and
>have a stab at Inferno! Sunday Sunday SUNDAY!!!" I'm sure someone else
>could ID the music.

It's from MORTAL KOMBAT II: ANNIHILATION. Haven't seen the movie, but I
have the soundtrack for the first, and it has the same tune. The one used on
the clip has more character names (from the second game), hence the ID.

--R.J.
B-)

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Finback

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Jun 23, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/23/98

On 22 Jun 1998, Joona I Palaste wrote:

> Rubicon was the name of the river Caius Iulius Caesar crossed when he
> was going to attack another army. There he said his famous words: "Alea
> iacta est", the die has been cast.

Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Joona! :)

> What a pity! I would have LOVED to see a fusion of Prime and Primal.
> Some sort of gorilla truck, perhaps? =)

Wait for it....
"My rigid gorilla structure is bearing....."

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